The Baltic region, and particularly Lithuania, has been at the forefront of fintech innovation in Europe. As the European Union prepares to implement PSD3 and PSR1, these new regulations promise to bring significant changes to the payment ecosystem, further transforming the financial services landscape in Lithuania. Open banking, which mandates that banks share customer data with licensed fintech companies, has promoted competition and innovation. Now, PSD3 and PSR1 aim to refine this framework, ensuring higher security, efficiency, and broader access. Open banking allows banks to share customer data with licensed companies, with the customer’s consent, through secure digital connections known…
Author: Company Announcement
Genome (UAB Maneuver LT) has launched SEPA Instant Transfers for all its clients. The update lets users make euro payments within seconds, streamlining personal and business finances across the Eurozone. This way, the company wants to enhance its clients’ experience by enabling instant, cost-effective transfers perfect for individual day-to-day operations and business transactions. “The whole world is moving towards implementing instant payments, and our team is glad to be a part of this international trend. Our highest priority is for Genome’s clients to have a fast and convenient option to transfer funds across Europe,” explained Genome’s CEO, Daumantas Barauskas. The…
The fintech industry is evolving, and regulatory requirements are becoming more stringent. As of April 2025, the European Central Bank (ECB) will no longer allow Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) and Payment Institutions (PIs) to safeguard their clients’ funds with National Central Banks. This shift means that all non-bank Payment Service Providers (PSPs) must safeguard their funds with commercial banks, making finding a reliable and compliant partner critical. What is a safeguarding account? A safeguarding account is a financial account that keeps client funds separate from the institution’s operational funds, ensuring protection in financial instability or insolvency. This legal requirement helps…
In the digital world, Sunday Marketplace OÜ stands out not only for its commitment to service excellence but also for its dedication to continuous technological innovation. The company understands that to provide efficient and secure service, it is crucial to stay at the forefront of emerging technologies and best practices in cybersecurity. Security: A Fundamental Pillar Security is an absolute priority at Sunday Marketplace OÜ. The company has implemented security practices across all layers of its system to protect both user information and the integrity of its operations. From authentication and authorization to protection against cyberattacks, every platform aspect is…
The World Economic Forum (WEF) 2023 Global Risks Report states that cybersecurity ranks among the top 10 global risks both currently and in the future. The annual cost of cybercrime is expected to reach US$10.5 trillion by 2025 Data from Barracuda, a cybersecurity company, shows that cyberattacks are more effective during the summer, when companies are short-staffed. In January, only about 1 in 80 (1.25%) threat alerts were serious enough to warrant a security alert to a customer, rising to 1 in 5 (20%) between June and September. Cybersecurity is a growing concern also in the Baltic region, which is…
AS LPB Bank officially changed its legal name to AS Magnetiq Bank, while also introducing a new brand visual identity. The renaming and rebranding of the bank are based on an acquisition deal concluded at the end of 2023, in which Latvia’s leading investment bank, Signet Bank AS, became the sole shareholder and parent company of AS LPB Bank. The brand change is part of a broader business development strategy for the Signet Bank group and AS Magnetiq Bank. Its aim is to promote more effective implementation of financial innovations, improve the availability of digital products in the banking sector,…
The international financial technology hackathon “Open FinHack” ended with the victory of the Latvian team “Frankey.” The competition was fierce—231 participants from 38 countries applied for the hackathon. As part of the hackathon “Open FinHack”, participants searched for both B2B and B2C solutions in six areas of the financial industry – crowdfunding, fraud detection and prevention, blockchain solutions, data analytics, personalised financial services and financial literacy. Both individual authors of ideas and experts, as well as early-stage start-ups, could apply for the hackathon. For almost a week, 23 teams worked day and night, in person and remotely, to develop their…
Noda, a leader in instant transaction facilitation, proudly announces its market expansion alongside Wargaming into the Baltic region, including Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Starting in January 2024, this strategic partnership will bring innovative Open Banking payment solutions to online gamers across these countries. After more than a year of serving as a trusted payment facilitator for Wargaming in major markets like Germany, UK, and France, Noda is now extending its services to the burgeoning gaming markets in the Baltic States, including Lithuania. This move marks a significant step in addressing the unique needs of the Baltic gaming community. In the…
AlternativePayments, a leading FinTech company and local payment solution provider based in Vilnius, Lithuania, and iDenfy, also based in Lithuania, announced the availability of iDenfy’s identity verification solution. Mindaugas Rizgelis, CEO of AlternativePayments, stated that this will ensure a smooth and easy onboarding process for AlternativePayments merchants. In addition to the easy online boarding portal, AlternativePayments is now adding a smooth verification process. iDenfy is a Lithuanian start-up set up in 2016 by Domantas Čiuldė and Gediminas Ratkevičius. Their process protects merchants’ businesses from the most threatening forms of identity fraud, including forged, counterfeit, blank or stolen, fantasy or camouflage,…
Lithuanian start-up InRento has merged with EvoEstate, the largest real estate aggregator in Europe, and has become the largest licensed buy to let crowdfunding platform in Europe further operating under the name of InRento. According to Gustas Germanavičius, founder and CEO of InRento, after this merger the company will be able to implement its vision faster – to offer more larger-scale rental projects in Europe and attract a bigger number of investors worldwide. “Our growth strategy is based not only on expanding InRento as a platform, but also on acquiring or merging with other companies. This helps us move forward…
Lithuania introduced a new business partnership and business networking platform “B2Lithuania” to boost export and facilitate international partnerships with foreign companies. The platform, which is free of charge, displays over 2,600 profiles of Lithuanian export companies operating in high-tech engineering, ICT, life sciences, and other sectors. “B2Lithuania” platform also contains reliable information verified by Enterprise Lithuania, a non-profit entrepreneurship and export development agency established by the Ministry of Economy and Innovation. At the same time, it displays representative details of the companies, as well as the option to arrange online meetings. According to Rasa Uždavinytė, head of the Export Department at Enterprise Lithuania, the interactive…
Intergiro will offer its embedded finance services to clients in the Finnish market Intergiro’s API-suite of offerings includes white label banking services, card issuing, payment processing, and more Client base already includes neobanks, payments institutions and crypto exchanges Sweden-based fintech pioneer Intergiro is launching its Banking as a Service (BaaS) platform, Intergiro.3d, in the Finnish market. Intergiro.3d is an all-in-one embedded financial toolkit Intergiro.3d is designed for businesses to build their own financial solutions or embed financial operations into their products and services. Its flexible APIs enable clients to create anything from card programmes, to white-label banking services, to fully-fledged…
Veriff announced that they have raised $100M in Series C financing, co-led by Tiger Global and Alkeon, joined by existing investors IVP and Accel. This round brings Veriff’s total funding to $200M and its valuation to $1.5B, as it aims to expand its global customer base and deliver trusted online identity verifications. The new financing will be used to accelerate Veriff’s global growth and invest in R&D, especially to advance product expansion. The company will also grow its sales and marketing teams to onboard more global clients and build on recent customer success programs. In addition, Veriff will expand its…
Bolt announced the closing of their latest €628M round of funding — the largest to date. The investment round was led by Sequoia and Fidelity Management and increased Bolt’s valuation to €7.4B. Rebuilding cities for people, not cars For the past 8 years, Bolt strived to prove the point that owning a personal car is no longer a necessity and built an ecosystem around it. This round of funding — the biggest in Bolt’s history — will help Bolt to build a future in which cities need fewer parking spaces, have less congestion and lower emissions, and where people can…
The Bank of Lithuania invites payment market participants and technology companies to participate in an experiment and together develop a payment solution that enables instant settlements in digital euro at points of sale. “The Bank of Lithuania is constantly assessing the payment market in terms of competition, accessibility of services and innovations. We see a need for an innovative solution that would enable a simpler and more convenient payments for buyers and sellers at physical point of sale. As the digital euro project gains momentum, this is a great opportunity to test the future money solution by using state-of-the-art technologies,”…
Paysera, a Lithuanian payment processor with a dominant presence in the Baltics, has raised its authorised capital from EUR 3 million up to EUR 7 million. The capital was raised from the accumulated profit. “Paysera has become a well-known financial partner in the Baltic region and Central Europe, and also beyond the European borders. Its expansion in Europe and beyond has also resulted in a growth of the clients’ money in accounts, which was also affected by the global pandemic. In the face of COVID-19, people and companies saved more and spent less money, and, naturally, they felt a need…
EstateGuru, a cross-border marketplace for short-term property backed SME loans, has announced a series of executive appointments in line with its expansion strategy in Latvia. EstateGuru is strengthening its Group Sales function by appointing current Country Head of Latvia, Dainis Rupainis, to the position of Business Development Manager and named Aleksandrs Mežapuķe as the new Country Head of Latvia. Mr. Mežapuķe is an expert in real estate and banking. He gained over 7 years of experience at Rietumu Bank JSC in the Corporate Finance and Real Estate departments. For the last few years he was the CEO of R.Evolution City,…
Swedish e-scooter rental company Voi is now offering its own Mastercard credit card issued by Advanzia Bank as part of its sustainable mobility initiative. It is a departure from the classic credit card miles reward programmes that are usually tied to air miles, which is not necessarily the most climate-friendly way to travel. The integrated loyalty programme allows cardholders to collect miles with every payment, which can then be redeemed for free e-scooter rides. Upon receiving the card, an additional 6000 miles are credited which enables customers to redeem six free rides. To round off the card’s mobility concept, all…
Today the Bank of Lithuania issued its digital collector coin LBCOIN. Tthis is not only the first digital coin issued by a central bank in the euro area, but also across the world. LBCOIN is dedicated to Lithuania’s 1918 Act of Independence and its 20 signatories. “The digital coin is a striking illustration of what we have achieved in just a few years following our strategic decision to take a firm path towards financial and payment innovation. It serves as a bridge that brings together classical numismatics and rapidly evolving financial technologies. I have no doubt that LBCOIN will strengthen…
The electronic payment network Paysera is expanding to Kosovo. The Central Bank of Kosovo has already granted Paysera Kosovo the first Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence in the country. When Paysera started operating in the Baltics 16 years ago, transfer rates in the region were similar to those in Kosovo today, but competition led to cheaper domestic and international transfers, leaving no fees for crediting of transfers. Representatives of the licensed international network claim that transfers to Kosovars will also become cheaper, some by 25 times. “We know that before COVID-19, Kosovo was the fastest growing economy in the Western…